pointed commentary on current affairs in Jamaica and the Caribbean

Attorney-at-law and gay rights advocate Maurice Tomlinson has applied to the Caribbean Court of Justice, for special leave to take legal action against Belize and Trinidad and Tobago.

Tomlinson has already sued TV stations TVJ, CVM and PBCJ in Jamaica for refusing to air an ad promoting tolerance towards homosexuals. You can read about those court proceedings in my posts here, here, hereand here.

His application to the CCJ is in relation to his wish to challenge the immigration laws of Belize and Trinidad and Tobago which prohibit entry to homosexuals.

Individuals or private companies (as opposed to States) can appear before the court if granted special leave, by virtue of Article 222 of the Revised Treaty of Chaguaramas where:

“(a) the Court has determined in any particular case that this Treaty intended that a right or benefit conferred by or under this Treaty on a Contracting Party shall enure to the benefit of such persons directly; and

(b) the persons concerned have established that such persons have been prejudiced in respect of the enjoyment of the right or benefit mentioned in paragraph (a) of this Article; and

(c) the Contracting Party entitled to espouse the claim in proceedings before the Court has:

(i) omitted or declined to espouse the claim, or

(ii) expressly agreed that the persons concerned may espouse the claim instead of the Contracting Party so entitled; and

(d) the Court has found that the interest of justice requires that the persons be allowed to espouse the claim.”

Court documents filed by Tomlinson reference the revised Treaty of Chaguaramas, which provides that “member states should commit themselves to the goal of free movement of their nationals within the Community.”

They also reference CARICOM’s Charter of Civil Society which speaks about fundamental rights and freedoms

Flag of the Caribbean Common Market and Community (CARICOM) (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

including the right to free movement within CARICOM, and which requires states to respect and protect human dignity.

Tomlinson is asserting that his right to freedom of movement has been violated, and that it is an affront to his dignity to limit his movement through CARICOM because of his sexual orientation.

He says the Government of Jamaica has declined to agree to allow him to espouse the claim, stating that “there is no adequate basis” on which to do so.

In his affidavit attached to the application, Tomlinson states that:

“I am aware that…the act provides that the Minister may exempt any person. I am not prepared to apply for an exemption. If I applied for and was granted an exemption, I would be acquiescing in this unjust and discriminatory law. It would be offensive to me to be subject to questioning by State officials about the details of my sexual orientation and private life simply for purposes of determining whether I should be permitted to enter the country. I do not wish to visit Belize until all persons cast as “prohibited” by reason of their sexual orientation are free to visit the country.”

I swear… these Tomlinson cases all seem laced with personal vendetta. Nobody has to know your sexual orientation if you don’t want them to. I don’t recall immigration papers asking persons to state if you are gay or straight. Why this man is pushing this issue so much is becoming upsetting.

Mr. Tomlinson was invited to attend a conference in Trinidad as a Gay Right Activist. Now imaging immigration asking what is the purpose of his visit with such a law in place! So yes it is a personal vendetta, his vendetta is against systems and laws that could lead to possible acts of discrimination towards persons because of sexual orientation. Why is such a law needed, should be the question.

Double A, your comments unfortunately show a great deal of ignorance and inhumanity. I am a gay Jamaican man. Do you have any idea what sort of violence we have to live with in Jamaica as gay people? If you had a child who were gay, would you want your child killed, or hated, because of his or her sexual orientation? I think that you should read more widely and try to expand your range of thought. Right now you appear to be extremely narrow-minded, really.

So when Martin Luther King started the boycott of Alabama Buses was that “a personal vendetta”? Similarly to “Black” people, some of us cannot hide our sexual orientation and are victimized because of this. What is REALLY “upsetting” Double A, is that Caribbean people who suffered prejudice and injustice for so many years, now perpetrate prejudice and injustice upon their own people for no other reason than their personal religious beliefs. Well check your history books because “White” people used the same arguments to justify slavery.